MLCAI 13

Chapter 13

Saebyeok untied the ropes binding Lee Cheonghae and her unconscious friend, then handed them over to Kim Ihan.

Lee Cheonghae seemed wary, but she obediently followed Saebyeok’s words.

She didn’t know who this girl was, but using the nickname “Princess of the East Sea” had worked. That nickname was one that Ipado and the East Sea hunters often used when teasing her.

When she saw Kim Ihan standing outside the window, she felt both relief and confusion.

After all, the fact that the head of one of Seoul’s four great guilds had come to pick her up meant she was safe now. But Kim Ihan was also notorious for being anything but “righteous.” He wasn’t the kind of hunter you’d expect to step into something like a hostage rescue.

Lee Cheonghae had countless questions for Saebyeok. But she couldn’t ask them.

She had gritted her teeth and endured when she was captured, but now that she was rescued, all the tension left her body. Her legs gave out, her vision blurred, and her mind grew faint.

Finally, as she collapsed unconscious, Saebyeok’s hand—cutting the ropes on her wrist—brushed against her bracelet.

<Item: A Father’s Love Knows No Bounds (C)>
A bracelet specially crafted by a man who had nothing in the world but his precious daughter. Said to be made from more than 100 materials.

Untradeable, bound item.

└ Owner: !error! “Lee Cheonghae” – data not found

<Passive: Princess of the East Sea> – All awakened beings of the <East Sea Guild> feel a protective instinct toward the owner. At the same time, they feel an irresistible urge to crack dad jokes at her.

<Passive: First Line of Defense> – Once a day, rejects one status ailment attack. (Time until reset: 21:36)

<Skill: Dad, I’m Right Here> – Sends the owner’s exact location coordinates to <Sea Man> Ipado. !error! Owner data not found

Unintentionally glimpsing the item’s effects, Saebyeok let out an exasperated sigh.

“…No wonder he lost his mind.”

Was there any other item in existence so blatantly screaming, “Protect my daughter!”?

Binding an item to an unawakened normal human wasn’t easy.

And yet, here was Lee Cheonghae, wearing this absurd bracelet—proof of her father’s overprotectiveness. The fact that the Scavenger Guild had managed to kidnap her anyway was remarkable in its own right.

It had only been possible because Seoul wasn’t under the East Sea’s influence, because Cheonghae was at the rebellious age where she’d sneak out behind her father’s back, because Ipado had assumed Seoul would be as safe as Busan and had loosened security, and because it was the busy, noisy freshman season when the clubs were packed.

So many coincidences had aligned—this was a one-time incident that likely would never happen again.

“That’ll break soon. You should tie her up with something else.”

Saebyeok tossed Jo Cheol-su, who had been strung up with thick plant vines, down at Kim Ihan’s feet as she spoke.

“He was caught off guard, but he’s still a hunter who fights with raw muscle.”

Jo Cheol-su had started struggling, and the vines binding him were beginning to snap. Saebyeok had already applied a follow-up with <Lightning>.

Thanks to Kim Ihan’s buff, its power had increased slightly—but <Sprout> was still only rank D.

“To me, those vines look scarier, but I guess the electricity packs more punch?”

Kim Ihan’s comment was sharp.

“Electricity, wind, wood, light… Is this some kind of <Earth’s Resources> title?”

He pressed his foot down on Jo Cheol-su’s chest as he asked.

His gentle, smiling eyes carried a tempting suggestion: he had already analyzed her enough, so why not tell him her title now?

But Saebyeok only gave a small laugh and shut the window.

She had no intention of revealing it until the job was done.

After all, she had already handed over both Lee Cheonghae and a Scavenger executive to him—if she revealed her title now, he might feel satisfied and simply leave.

Saebyeok discarded the branch she had been using and picked up the staff lying beside the collapsed mage.

<Item: Staff of Survival of the Fittest (D)>
Made from a tree that withered and died, unable to escape the shadow of its towering brothers in the rainforest. Crafted in a weapons factory that discards failures without mercy, it developed only survival traits.

<Passive: Strong Against the Weak, Weak Against the Strong> – When facing opponents of lower rank, gain <Buff: Superiority>. When facing higher rank opponents, gain <Debuff: Submission>. The greater the rank gap, the stronger the effect.

└ <Superiority>: Outgoing damage increases by 4%. The user feels superior, slightly boosting strength.
└ <Submission>: Incoming damage increases by 12%. The user feels humiliated, body language shrinks.

<Skill: Brain Gap> – Momentarily disrupts the target’s concentration, creating a gap in their mental defenses. However, excessive use may cause the staff to seize up, resulting in a temporary backlash.

“…What the hell, this thing’s trash.”

Saebyeok had gathered up all the weapons dropped by the defeated Scavenger guild members.

They were all lacking in one way or another, but this one looked especially useless.

Who in their right mind would accept taking 12% more damage just to deal 4% more?

Sure, disrupting an enemy’s concentration to delay a skill cast could be handy in battle—but even that came with the risk of the staff seizing up.

With a sour expression, Saebyeok nonetheless gripped the staff.

Pulling a mask over her face, she looked almost identical to the fallen mage.

She tugged her hood low and opened the door.

Outside was a balcony-style corridor. Below stretched a wide hall.

Inside, believers knelt, bowing toward a glowing blue light on the wall, rubbing their palms together in prayer. Some were even weeping—it was quite the scene.

“Compared to three months later, there are fewer believers and fewer guards.”

Scavenger guild members stood watch here and there, weapons in hand. Their patrol routes were sloppy.

“The layout looks the same. That means the prayer room should be that way, with the ritual chamber beyond it where the ‘ceremony’ takes place…”

The reason Saebyeok knew their operation methods and building structure so well was because, in her previous life, this had been the very first villain organization she had led an Association strike team against.

She had prepared thoroughly back then, so many details remained vivid in her memory.

“The question is how many people are imprisoned in the basement…”

The Scavengers locked up “slaves” there who were unsuitable as sacrifices.

“Kang Suho should be down there too… but since they said the child was taken directly to the prayer room, that’s where I’ll go first.”

If the child had been taken there, it meant less than 30 minutes remained before the sacrifice ritual. Saving her younger brother had to come first.

Saebyeok crouched down, imitating the mage from earlier, and descended the stairs.

Whenever she encountered guild members, she acted obsequious and servile. Not one of them doubted her. They even stepped aside for her.

By the time she reached the prayer room, she thought she might actually have some talent for acting.

“What the—why are you back again?”

Saebyeok subtly tilted the staff forward where it could be seen, and the guard, mistaking her for the other mage, asked gruffly.

“Th-the k-king…”

She mumbled in a barely audible voice, just as the mage had earlier.

The guards eyed her suspiciously for a moment, but when she gave a slight shudder of her shoulders, they snorted and stepped aside.

Saebyeok bowed hurriedly, grabbed the doorknob, and slipped inside.

The prayer room was empty.

Closing the door, she locked it silently.

The atmosphere was eerie.

Purple lighting filled the room, and grotesque monster heads had been taxidermied and mounted on the walls.

Unidentifiable dark stains were splattered here and there, and the stench was so foul it stung the eyes.

On the far wall hung a massive banner depicting a nine-headed hydra.

Like the one in the hall, the banner pulsed with a blue light, beating in rhythm with a human heart.

“Still as creepy as ever.”

!! Alert !!
Status ailment detected.
Negated by <Passive: Blessing of the Heavens (S)>.

As Saebyeok muttered, a system message confirmed she had stepped into the cult’s heart.

Normally, that would have been it—but today, more alerts followed.

!! Alert !!
Status ailment attack detected.
<Buff: An Eye for an Eye, a Tooth for a Tooth (A)> activated. (1/3)
<Curse: Slowness> reflected back at the caster (24%).

!! Alert !!
Status ailment attack detected.
<Buff: An Eye for an Eye, a Tooth for a Tooth (A)> activated. (2/3)
<Debuff: Worship the Evil> reflected back at the caster (24%).

“Ah.”

The short sigh left Saebyeok’s lips just as—

“GRAAAH! An intruder! Capture them!!”

Agonized screams erupted from deeper inside.

Bang! Bang!

Doors at both ends of the inner wall flew open, and Scavenger guild members poured out.

“There! That’s the one! Catch them!!”

“Damn it, if I’d known this would happen, I wouldn’t have accepted the buffs!”

She hadn’t considered the buffs might reveal her intrusion.

All that careful sneaking, all that caution—it was all wasted now.

“To hell with it! Come at me all at once!”

Saebyeok tore off her mask and hood.